Jonathan Palmer's advice for those helping a woman with breast cancer: "Be understanding and think positively for her . . . It's not a death sentence if it's treated early enough. Don't treat it like it is.''
(Provided photo)

"I had to come to terms with it before I could tell anybody else - and that took a while.''

The diagnosis of breast cancer brings myriad emotions, but perhaps strongest among them is determination.

It's a disease which strikes one in eight American women. Many of these women say they summon strength and resolve from many sources - family, friends, faith, medical providers - and surprise themselves with how strong they really are.

Johathan, or "Chucky" as her friends call her, Palmer already knew she had a lump on her breast when she went for her annual physical in November 2000; she had felt it several months earlier. With a history of cysts, the Lower Paxton Township woman said she figured it might be that. When she found out it was breast cancer, she cried, but she also determined that she would use her story to warn other women.

"You only have one body; take care of it!" she says. The 67-year-old director of the St. Francis of Asissi Soup Kitchen in Harrisburg is a member of Catalyst, a 20-year-old Harrisburg group for women and men with cancer whose mission is to improve the survival rate of ethnic and minority people through education and support. When she mans the Catalyst table at fairs and other events, she is quick to share her story and tell women to do as she says, not as she did. Palmer and husband, John, have a grown son.

Q: How did you find out that you had breast cancer - what symptoms took you to the doctor or was it from a routine mammogram?

A: I had felt a lump back in July, but I knew my yearly exam was coming up in November so I just figured I'd wait. My doctor laid into me about not coming in earlier. I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer and I had lumpectomy about two weeks later and radiation.

Q: How did you break the news to your family and friends?

A: The doctor called me at work and told me the news. I started crying and had a friend call my husband. He told me to go home, but I told him I couldn't because then I'd really break down. I didn't tell the rest of the family until a couple days before my surgery. First of all, I had to come to terms with it before I could tell anybody else - and that took a while.

Q: What sustained you/helped you cope during your treatment?

A: I just leaned on the Lord for the strength to deal with it. It was scary; it's still scary after all these years.

Q: What one thing has surprised you most - either positively or negatively - about walking this difficult journey?

A: Positively, the fact that we caught it as early as we did, considering the fact that I had waited to get it checked.

Q:How can people be truly helpful to a woman being treated for breast cancer?

A: Be understanding and think positively for her . . . It's not a death sentence if it's treated early enough. Don't treat it like it is.

Q: What would you tell other women who have been diagnosed recently?

A: Try to keep a positive frame of mind and find support; it's so important. I was lucky to have that support from friends and family. I became a member of Catalyst, which meets once a month. If you need to talk to somebody, you can always pick up the phone and call someone from there. I'm still involved with it, helping educate women about early detection. I tell them, "Check yourself for something different; even if it's the size of a pin point."